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What a Wonderful Kind of Birthday!

Submitted by Children's Services on November 28, 2018 - 9:00am

This November we are celebrating the 72nd birthday of Marc Brown, the master storyteller behind the most adventurous aardvark in books and television, Arthur. I think most of us are familiar with Arthur and his sister D.W. They are the characters from our childhood who helped us learn about school, family, friends, and life from either the pages of a wonderfully illustrated book or a down-to-earth television show on PBS. The creative cast of Arthur and his friends has certainly taught us some valuable life lessons while also inspiring us to see explore the world, and giving us the courage to face obstacles head on.

Marc Brown and his experiences are certainly reflected in his characters. He has even said that he has taken ideas for stories from childhood memories and author visits to elementary school classrooms. Sometimes he gets ideas that take years to become stories, and sometimes those ideas don’t become stories at all. Marc Brown certainly has plenty of ideas gathered over the course of his eventful life. He has worked as a cook, a truck-driver, a college professor, a children’s book illustrator, and a television art director, but has always remained a storyteller. With each idea he continues to expand Arthur’s world for the children and parents of today to help work, play, and get along with each other. So, on this wonderful kind of day take a moment to sit down with Arthur and his friends to celebrate Marc Brown’s 72nd birthday.